STRINGS // KATSUKI BAKUGO [2]

Chapter 33 // Battle

You used your strings to pull both yourself and Bakugo out of the tunnel upon reaching the entrance above, and the wreckage wasn't any better than when you left it.

The pros were doing a relatively good job of rounding up villains, but said villains were mainly low-life criminals belongings to the lower ranks of the organization.

The thing that concerned you the most was that the head villains, the League, weren't being put down any time soon, and that was evident by looking at the upper level balcony.

There stood Dabi, blue fire whirling around him like the cloak of a tyrant, across from a cowering Tokoyami, who was cradling an injured Hawks in his arms.

"You up to fight?" you questioned Bakugo while turning to face the blond, who was starting up at the balcony with a hardened expression.

"When am I not?" he scoffed, averting his attention back to you.

"Good," you said, using your strings to break  off the quirk restraint bracelet around his wrist, "because I didn't want to lug your ass around."

"Funny," he deadpanned. "Less joking, more fighting."

Bakugo used his explosions to propel himself up to the balcony, and you couldn't help but smile as you followed him with the aid of your strings, amused and pleased he was able to fall back into his normal behavior so quickly.

Just as Bakugo sent a heat wave Dabi's way to prevent the villain from spreading his fire any further, a shield of ice exploded from within the center of the wreckage, separating the four of you from Dabi.

You assumed it was Todoroki, but, upon finding the source of the ice, you realized it was just another criminal boasting his abilities, spewing out instructions to his comrades.

For once, you were thankful for a villain's actions because he had helped you out by unintentionally keeping Dabi at bay. He helped the four of you avoid an unnecessary fight.

You turned to face Tokoyami and the injured Hawks to find your classmate glancing between you and Bakugo with wide eyes and his mouth ajar.

"B-Bakugo," he stuttered, "you're okay, and, [L/N], you're back."

"Back?" Bakugo questioned, looking at you with confusion etched onto his face.

"Not the main focus right now," you held up a hand. "Tokoyami, how's Hawks' condition."

"Right," Tokoyami said, shaking off his disbelief and looking down at the wounded hero in his arms. "It's bad, but there's medical tents set up for civilians and heroes not too far from here. Now's a good chance to escape."

"You go first," you replied. "We'll follow you."

Tokoyami carefully stood, Hawks still enveloped in his arms, and, with the help of Dark Shadow, took off flying in the direction of the medical station.

"Get on," Bakugo ordered abruptly, gesturing you to climb onto his back as he crouched down to make the task easier for you.

You didn't argue. You climbed onto his back silently and secured your arms around his shoulders, pressing the heels of your feet against the front of his hips.

"The hell was Bird Brains talking about when he said you were 'back'?" Bakugo asked as used his quirk to thrust the both of you into the air to follow Tokoyami.

"Had to hideout while I was looking for you," you explained shortly. "I'll explain the whole thing in depth later. Right now, our focus needs to be on the battle."

"And that battle is...where exactly?" Bakugo questioned, glancing at you over his shoulder as he continued to follow Tokoyami through the air.

You huffed through your nose and pulled out your burner phone, quickly dialing Aizawa's number before holding the device up to your ear.

"[L/N]," Aizawa began upon answering the call, "what's your status?"

"Heading South," you replied. "I got Bakugo."

The man muttered something from his end of the line that was inaudible to you. However, you took the deep exhale he let out as a sign of relief.

"What's going on over there?" you wondered.

"Midoriya has run off. Todoroki followed. Shigaraki is on the loose and stronger than ever," Aizawa explained, right back to sounding stressed. "Endeavor has been trailing him, but we haven't done much damage."

"Which way is Shigaraki moving?" you asked.

"Southwest," the hero answered, "but don't pursue him. We've already got two students disobeying orders. We don't need four." You gritted your teeth, releasing a frustrated groan.

"Keep me updated," you stated before ending the call.

"Kat—"

"Yeah, yeah, I already know," Bakugo cut you off. "Which way we goin'?"

"Southwest," you responded, holding onto his shoulders tighter, "to Shigaraki."

[EDITED]